Mausoleum of Kirmani ladies to be conserved

Rs3.1 million will be spent on the project.

MULTAN:

Mausoleum of ladies from the family of Hazrat Daud Bandagi in Shergarh, Okara would be conserved at an estimated cost of Rs3.1 million, Archaeology Department officials said on Friday.

They said an estimate had been sent to senior officials for approval and funding.  They said the Auqaf department would provide funding for the scheme after approval.

The officials said that conservation work on the five-centuries-old mausoleum of Hazrat Daud Bandagi was already in progress. They said 80 per cent work had been completed. Rs1.3 million was being spent on the conservation project.

The officials said that the mausoleum of female saints was located at some distance from the Bandagi’s tomb.

Under the proposal, they said, kankar lime plaster would be applied to the walls, both on the interior and the exterior. The walls will later be glazed with lime plaster. Floral fresco work would also be restored and floral and geometrical patterns restored under stucco tracery work (stonework element).

Syed Muhammad Ibrahim, better known as Hazrat Daud Bandagi Kirmani, was born in Seetpur in present day Muzaffargarh in 1513 AD (919 AH). He died at the age of 43. He set up a khanqah in Shergarh. His mausoleum still stands there.

Published in The Express Tribune, February 15^th, 2014.